Living In The House

If a brotherhood created a bucket-list, this would sit right at the top of it. You’re not a true brother, nor have you truly experienced the brotherhood, if you’ve yet to live in the house. It’s the hub of all debauchery, and the home of all-things pledgeship. The bond you’ll create with your fellow in-house brothers can’t be broken. It’s a tradition, and one to cherish and never pass up.

Looking from the outside-in, the thought of 100+ college alcoholics living underneath one roof doesn’t exactly ooze professionalism and positivity. Well, that depends on who you’re asking. From a brother’s perspective, living in the house is the true commitment to the brotherhood. You’re willing to live, eat and sleep fraternity life. If you’ve done it, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, you’re fucking missing out. Most fraternity houses are on-campus, decked out with Greek letters, and most likely possessing an award for shittiest building in town. Yet, your house is the key element of #2 rush, and depending on how badass it is, #49 future frat stars will flock to it.

Supervision? Possibly. A house dad or house mom can determine the lifestyle of those living in the house. If you’re lucky enough, the supervising authority is down to party just as much as the brotherhood. On the other hand, a grumpy old bitch is the greatest cock block of all. Depending on how you look at it, living in the house can either be a ticket to pound town, or an anti-sleeping pill. There will be nights when the rave never ends, and other nights when ear plugs and a bottle of Nyquil don’t even come close to letting you sleep. Living in the house is pushing your chips all-in. Yet, if you know what you’re doing, you can reap the benefits. It’s a common-ground for all parties, and if you can’t get laid living in the fraternity house, you mine-as-well come out of the closet.

The Rooms

When it comes down to it, your room will make or break the fraternity, party or potential lay of the night. It’s a wicked combination of acting like you don’t care, while still putting in enough work to make your room impress. If you’ve got room for a bar, then build one. If your beds take up half the room, loft ’em. If your fridge is lacking, buy a kegerator and step up your fucking game. Depending on what #65 frat castle you live in, there can be designated party rooms. These rooms aren’t just used to shotgun beers and pound sorostitutes. They’re prime location for hazing parties. Do I really need to explain? Most brothers go from dorm-living as freshman to frat-living as sophomores. This usual jump makes the common bathrooms shared by 30 guys somewhat bearable. Yet, if you’re coming from an apartment, the jump is deadly. Say goodbye to privacy.

Plegeship In The House

All-things-hazing revolve around the house. It’s a sanctuary of hazing bliss, and society isn’t allowed in. If the brotherhood is all about #16 Secrecy, then your fraternity house is your castle surrounded by a mote. Pledges dread the house, yet secretly dream about the day that they’ll live in it. From serving dinner every night, to getting hazed in the wee hours of the morning, pledges become one with the house. During pledgeship, the house is spotless. After pledgeship, it becomes a wreck. This isn’t a coincidence. Pledges learn who lives in what room, and what rooms should be avoided at all costs. Dinnertime is servitude, and late-night partying turns the house into the main bus stop for pledge rides.

Dorm rooms? For most top fraternities who know what they’re doing, pledges might not see their dorm room for days. For most pledges, the hike to the house can be daunting, depending on where fraternity row lies. In the north, trudging through a mile of snow to be on time for the sole purpose of getting hazed is irony in itself. For the south, a walk in a full suit in the summer sun is painful enough. The house symbolizes everything that pledges love and hate about the fraternity. Yet, pledges work their asses off for weeks straight to appease the brotherhood, all the while hoping for the opportunity to live like those who haze them.

The Golden Rule

The Golden Rule has and always will stand: treat others the way you wish to be treated. Yet, in fraternities, it’s all about treating others the way you were once treated. Living in the house gives a select few brothers the opportunity to #36 take advantage of pledges more than anybody else. For the most part, your prowess and extent of hazing as a brother is a direct reflection of how hard you were hazed as a pledge. Hazing is a tradition, and it’s passed on from pledge class to pledge class. Those who live in the house teach it best.